My Erasmus

I know a lot of you are applying to the Erasmus program at the moment, asking yourselves if you should go, why, if it’s worth it, if it’s better to go one or two semesters, which country you should choose… Or maybe some of you are just thinking about going next year or in two years. To tell you the truth, I never thought a lot about going on Erasmus, until I realized all of my friends would “leave me alone” here in Lisbon. Not to mention the fact that it was the only time in my life I would have the chance to have an experience like this… Talking about Erasmus will always be exciting for me, since I consider that I had such an amazing experience and I have to share it with you guys, hoping I can answer to some of your doubts, that I naturally also had at that time. So I split the post into some topics, which I think are essential to be considered, making this adventure even better!

THE COUNTRY / O PAÍS

When I applied to the Erasmus program I remember I chose six different universities. At first, I chose a design college in Milan, because it was really good, and then Southampton, in England, because they speak english there. All the others I don’t remember. I got into the second option. I didn’t know almost anything about Southampton, but between the two options in England (Southampton and Leeds, more to the north), I chose Southampton, because it was in the south and it was closer to London. Of course, choosing the country depends on each person’s preferences: the weather, the budget, the language, the quality of the education, among others. I chose England because of the english. Everything else, was only investigated after I knew I got in.

THE MONEY / O DINHEIRO

I won’t lie: England is really expensive. Moreover, my scholarship was the highest one of Erasmus (1500€ max) and it helped me pay for a half of my residence, which was the cheapest one of the city. I had to manage my spendings. I ate out around five times, with exception of when I was traveling. I confess that I already knew what I was going for, though. And the truth was that I wanted to enjoy my time there. But if you don’t have that much money to invest on your Erasmus, there are countries and cities where you can spend the same you spend here in Portugal, such as Czech Republic, Hungary, Spain and Poland. I have friends who went on Erasmus to Poland and their parents spent less money with them living there than they spend when they are here in Portugal! The right choice of the country does make a difference. Again, Poland is so much cheaper than England, France or Switzerland, and the scholarships are not that different: mine paid half of my residence, but the scholarship in Poland (around 1000€) can pay you months of outlay.

THE UNIVERSITY / A UNIVERSIDADE

Like I said before, the university wasn’t a decisive factor for me, even if it can be in other courses! Only after I knew I got into Southampton, I started searching for information about Solent University and it seemed super modern, interesting and a lot different from my university in Portugal (Faculdade de Belas Artes de Lisboa). I can highlight some positive and negative points about this college. Starting with the positive points, the university conditions were way better than here. There were a lot of campus around the city and I was mainly in two of them. The one where I was 90% of the time was almost like a design studio (with ping-pong and snooker table in the classroom), with a screenprinting room (we could it use for free, which would never happen here in Portugal), a room for the illustration people with all the walls covered with amazing art pieces from top to bottom, and a well-equipped room with computers that we could access with our student card. The main campus had everything: from amazing photography studios to a cantine with Starbucks cafe included and a classroom inside a “red rocket” that made me feel like I was in NASA. Another thing I really liked about the course was the challenging and commercial projects, with real contact with companies. However, I felt they had fewer classes and less work than we have here in Portugal and they are less picky about themselves. They had less design theoretical bases, which are essential to be a good creative. Anyway, I think I worked a lot for an Erasmus student and the teachers were more critical and rigorous with us (me and Zé, my portuguese friend), which doesn’t happen in other countries. You will always have that one friend who didn’t study on Erasmus and got the maximum in every subject. It definitely wasn’t my case!

LIVING BY MYSELF / VIVER SOZINHA

This is one of the biggest challenges! Obviously, some of us already live out of our parents’ houses (the ones who came to Lisbon to study), but most of us don’t. All of a sudden I had to do my groceries every day, cook, clean up my room, do my laundry… Nothing that I couldn’t do, of course! But I really recommend you to bring some good culinary bases so that you don’t eat bad things all the time. Actually, I really took it easy and never starved. A soup was always essential and I noticed it is one of the best portuguese habits. Unfortunately, one of the things I didn’t like in England (or at least in Southampton) was the food offer. There wasn’t a single fresh market, a fishmonger or a butchery. And it could be fine if you had all these things in the supermarket, but no… All the fishes were already packed and there was only salmon and whitefish or fried “fast-food” fish (which I hate). The meat was all already packed as well, which I hate as well. So I spent the whole five months eating salmon, chicken legs or breasts and vegetables. I learnt to cook a lot of vegetarian recipes because I felt that all the products of animal origin weren’t good enough. So it made me become way more unleashed, also because (as I already said) I tried to eat at home as much as possible so I could save money to travel. The worst of living by myself was when I got sick with tonsillitis! Moms are actually needed…

THE DISTANCE / A DISTÂNCIA

This is a really sensitive topic for a lot of people. And so it was for me. But today I can say it’s way easier than it seems. Of course, I can’t complain since I came to Portugal twice (for my birthday and for Christmas), my boyfriend also came to England twice (one time we met up in London and the other in Southampton) and I also had a visit of a friend of mine. The facility of catching a low-cost flight makes it way easier, as well as the internet. I won’t lie: I missed my home, my family, my friends, my boyfriend, my doggies…ButI thought it would be worse.There are so many things to do every day, so many new surprises and adventures, that the time goes by so fast and you can’t even think about the worse stuff. A lot of you think “she is just saying this to make us relax”, but no! I swear! Trust me, it will be worse to come back and feel that the Erasmus never comes back again, than going to Erasmus. Everything and everybody you live with in your country will be there when you come back. About me and Chico, it was just another challenge. When you trust in each other, there’s nothing that can go wrong. Never decide not to go on Erasmus because you have a boyfriend or girlfriend or because you think you’ll be alone there and you will miss everybody that stays here!

NEW LANGUAGE / NOVA LÍNGUA

As you already know, the main reason I chose England as an option for my Erasmus was the language. I won’t say I came back with the perfect english, because I didn’t. Improving your english until you reach the best level possible takes more time and I would’ve had to get along with more people who spoke english as a native language to do that. My friends were from everywhere, they also made mistakes (the canadians were the only exception). But almost all of my friends had a really great english! If I was shy on the first day, I realized I got really comfortable day by day and I learned that making a mistake wasn’t a bad thing. It made me learn more and to get around in any situation to express myself in the best way that I could. I was thinking in english almost 100% of the time and it’s easier for me to understand everything when I’m watching a movie without subtitles or listening to a british person, even though their accent is not the easiest one to understand. I consider that my english had a really big improvements!

I could write a whole book about them. My friends weren’t the ones I was studying with. They were the ones who I lived with and became my family in those five months.I was one of ten living in the same house, sharing a kitchen and bathrooms. Before I went to England, it seemed scary. But when I got there, it was the best thing that happened to me and I figured it out since the first day. I was living with a canadian, four dutch people, a german, a spanish, an italian and a portuguese (a friend of mine who came with me, by coincidence). Obviously, a lot of people joined us: we were the cool flat! We started with “cooking soup classes”, sharing dinners (we had to pick another table just so that we could have dinner all together), parties at night… It was amazing to understand all of the habits and cultures – portuguese and spanish wanting to have dinner at 8pm, dutch people at 5pm, for example… But the best part was to understand how similar we were and how we got along so well. It sounds cheesy, but it’s true! Of course I can nominate the four that I hang out the with most and I can’t be a lot of months without seeing them! I’ve seen my dutch friend three times since I came back and I’m going to the Netherlands again next week to meet up with her, all the dutch people and the italian guy. The canadians are further away but they will have my visit this summer. It’s so good to feel like I have so many “homes” around the world! The worst part is missing all of them, but nothing that a flight can’t solve once again. About sharing bathroom and kitchen, we never had any problem with it, and it made it be more comfortable with each other. We were all really respectful when sharing things. I was probably lucky with my flatmates, I don’t know. I mean, we decorated the whole house with Christmas decorations, we did a Christmas tree, had a Christmas dinner and gave gifts to each other, just like a family. Wasn’t I lucky? I think if you wanna have a full Erasmus experience, you should have this culture exchange and not only be with the portuguese friends you are already used to be with here in Portugal. Without fear, look for meeting new people from all over the world. In the end, it would enrich your experience!

THE TRIPS / AS VIAGENS

England is quite isolated from the rest of Europe. Anyway, I got to visit many cities and some countries that I wouldn’t have visited that easily if I was in Portugal. Countries like: Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Netherlands. England cities: Bath, Brighton, Oxford, Bournemouth, Bristol, Portsmouth, Winchester, among others. And of course, London. But I have to tell you that London is really different from all the other cities of Englang. I catched a five-hour train to Cardiff alone and came back in the same day. I would go to a city a day, day by day, with my dutch friend. We never stopped! But when I came home, there were always people there to share the day. I think traveling is one of the things you should enjoy during Erasmus. However, as the time went by in Southampton, I booked fewer trips, so I could spend the weekends with my flatmates – since not all of them could travel every weekend.

THE COMEBACK / O REGRESSO

Coming back is good, but it is also tough. To start, the farewell week was the worst. Every day, a friend was going home and even if it was a “see you soon”, it hurt. I was unfortunate to be the last one going home so I saw the flat empty, with every room empty as well. The life in every room was gone. It was my worst memory of Erasmus. But it had to be like that. I came back. First I had the good part: more than a month of vacation and I felt it was only a visit and I would go to England again. Afterwards, I started missing my friends and my lifestyle. And I also missed traveling every week and it was difficult to come back to the university rhythm, the teachers I didn’t like and, even with all of that, finishing my degree. But I did it and I’m here and happy. And every time we all want to, we meet up somewhere. Everything is possible!

I could write a lot more. But the biggest advice I can give you is to go on Erasmus. Enjoy this opportunity you have to meet cultures and amazing people and grow mainly as a human being. I know I lived my Erasmus to the fullest and I came back a better person, more tolerant, happier and more complete. I wouldn’t change anything. Not even a person, a place, a second. Anything. And I know that one day when I read my six diaries I wrote every day, I will confirm everything I’m saying. Trust me, everyone who goes on Erasmus comes back radiant! And if you need more tips, send me an email or a private message on Instagram. Hope you liked it!